As we bid farewell to 2019 and the entire 2010s, we’d like to share some memorable moments from our Sholay parties along with events and milestones that have touched the Desi LGBTQI community in NYC and beyond. So Many Memorable Sholay Parties! We kicked off the 2010s right on New Year’s Eve.  Salaam Namaste Bollywood blowout bash rang in the decade with wall-to-wall cuteness, confetti and too much champagne! In August 2012, we

Posted: December 30th, 2019

“To raise your voice against something is a democratic right, people are raising their voices and I’m of view that there seems to be a certain amount of discrimination in what is happening”—Farhan Akhtar. While a growing number of actors, directors and producers in Bollywood have stood in solidarity with protesters and expressed concerns about the Indian government’s legislated attacks on pluralism, the industry has been conspicuously silent for the

Posted: December 29th, 2019

* * * * Hard to believe our last Sholay party was nearly a year ago. We miss being together in one big, loud, throbbing, sweaty, and joyful space. We hope you and yours are safe and well. We look forward to the year ahead— getting through this pandemic, undoing the damage to U.S. democracy, and continuing to support each other as we acknowledge lives lost, challenges faced, and dare to

Posted: December 25th, 2019

There’s a new South Asian Film Festival in town and it kicks off this Friday, November 17th in New York City.  Some of the featured films include a series of “Manhattan Shorts” with Omar Rahim’s debut, “Agency” and an LGBT series of shorts, with “Last Letter”, produced by Lotus Visual, both of which will be premiering on November 16th.  You can view the full schedule and purchase tickets here.

Posted: November 10th, 2019

Thank you to The Juggernaut  for this feature on “Desilicious”!  The Juggernaut started from a weekly email eNewsletter highlighting articles on South Asians which grew into an online publication.  Jaya Sunderdash does a great job  of reliving our September 15th party.  You will need to submit your email address to read the article. Read more about the publication and look forward to reading more interesting stories about South Asians and written by South Asians.

Posted: October 22nd, 2019

Fresh from the success of India’s first LGBT+ short film Sisak winning 59 international awards, filmmaker Faraz Ansari has now embarked on another ambitious short film—Sheer Qorma. The film, under production, tells a story of a daughter (Divya Dutta), who is in a same-sex marriage and returns with her partner (Swara Bhasker) to seek the approval of her mother (Shabana Azmi). The stellar cast and story are already creating a buzz in

Posted: September 11th, 2019

Sandip Roy’s latest article details the founding of “Trikone,” the first South Asian LGBTQ magazine over 30 years ago. Arvind Kumar and Ashok Jethanandani were gay desi Silicon Valley software engineers living as an out couple in the Bay Area in the late 1980s. Together with a friend, Suvir Das, they toiled after hours to photocopy and staple together this truly grassroots publication that grew out of a desire to connect isolated LGBTQ desis “in

Posted: September 2nd, 2019

We were shocked and deeply saddened to learn that Queen Harish and three other folk artists were killed in a highway accident in India when their SUV crashed into a truck today, June 2nd. The group was on their way to Ajmer from Jaisalmer for a performance when the incident occurred. We had the privilege of having Queen Harish perform at two of our events—gracing the stage of Highline Ballroom at the

Posted: June 2nd, 2019